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Text of the Citation for Distinguished Public Service
presented to Sen. Jesse Helms at the NCCBI Annual Meeting
Senator
Jesse Helms is very likely the most recognizable North
Carolinian of the 20th century, and certainly the most
well-known son of the Tar Heel state to achieve national
stature in the last 50 years. One could even call Senator
Helms an icon of conservative Republican politics.
But celebrity is in no way
a criterion for NCCBI’s Citation for Distinguished Public
Service. Many others who have received this award over
the years have toiled in relative obscurity. What does matter
is the person’s concern for the welfare of North
Carolina’s citizens, and what matters even more is their
ability to use their skills and influence to create places,
programs or policies that benefit the greater good. Had
Senator Helms not been elected to the U.S. Senate five times
over the last 28 years, he undoubtedly would have been worthy
of this honor through his work as a private citizen.
Ever since he burst on the
scene in 1960 as a commentator on Raleigh’s WRAL-TV and
editorialist whose work was printed in more than 200
newspapers nationwide, Jesse Helms has addressed the concerns
of the business community. He has been known as the “Voice
of Free Enterprise.” That voice continues to speak loudly on
behalf of a strong business climate at both the national and
state levels. In the Senate, he is a staunch advocate of
smaller government and a less restrictive regulatory
environment. He decries profligate government spending and
high taxation so vehemently that he has received the Guardian
of Small Business Award from the National Federation of
Independent Businesses and the Watchdog of the Treasury Award
from the National Association of Businessmen every year since
he first went to Washington in 1973. Furthermore, he has been
recognized by the National Taxpayers’ Union every year since
1981. And the venerable U.S. Chamber of Commerce honored the
Senator with its prestigious “Spirit of Enterprise” Award
in each Congress.
It is not just rhetoric or ideology that shapes his
pro-business attitude. He also has experience, having served
as executive director of the North Carolina Bankers
Association from 1953 to 1960. In that capacity he also edited
the association’s magazine, The Tar Heel Banker, which in
his capable hands became the largest state banking publication
in the United States.
Senator Helms has also steadfastly championed the cause of the
farmer. In this technology-driven economy and in these
prosperous times it is easy to lose sight of how important
agriculture has been to our state’s success. Tobacco
especially transformed our economy, turning more than a few
North Carolinians into to millionaires and helping many, many
families achieve the American dream.
Senator Helms has never forgotten this fact, or his rural
roots. Through the power of his vote and his influence as the
former chairman of the Agriculture Committee (CONFIRM),
Senator Helms has done his part to help farmers of all kinds
provide for their families. To achieve the best for his
constituents, he has always endeavored to shun partisan
politics, working closely with many Democratic officials and
lawmakers. One of those North Carolina Democrats is Jim
Graham, who until his recent retirement served as North
Carolina’s Commissioner of Agriculture for 36 years. Having
worked with Senator Helms on a number of North Carolina farm
issues and bills, Mr. Graham says, “I always found him to be
favorable toward and interested in our concerns –
politically, we would agree to disagree, but he would always
act on behalf of North Carolinians’ best interests. I
respect him highly, and history will recognize that he has
done the right thing by taking the positions he has.”
It’s not just his beliefs and the power of his personality
that make the Senator such an effective advocate. He also has
a keen intelligence and uncommon political aptitude. In fact,
the Honorable Lauch Faircloth, North Carolina’s junior
senator for six years, says this about Senator Helms: “He
has greater knowledge of the function and rules of the Senate
than anyone else, and he has used that knowledge to further
the causes of the people of North Carolina. Senator Helms is
the most respected member of the U.S. Senate, and it was an
honor to serve with him.”
Although Senator Helms is
always mindful of the common good, he never loses sight of the
individual concerns of the common man. One key reason
the people of North Carolina have sent Senator Helms to
Washington five consecutive times is that he takes care of his
neighbors back home, whether they vote for him or not.
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of North Carolina
residents have received his assistance in dealing with
government red tape and other issues. Most voters would gladly
return him for a sixth term on the basis of his service to
constituents alone, if he should be so inclined.
A tribute to Senator Helms would not be complete without
celebrating who he is as well as what he does. Underneath that
stern, resolute political figure is the heart of a warm,
gracious, sentimental and loving man who is devoted to his
family and to children of all races, creeds and abilities.
He has contributed much time and energy volunteering with
organizations devoted to the treatment of children with
cerebral palsy. Senator Helms also loves to visit with
children and talk with them about history and government.
Since he was first elected 28 years ago, Senator Helms has
played host to more than 100,000 schoolchildren in his
Washington offices. And even his official U.S. Senate Web site
has special pages just for kids, with educational information
and kid-friendly recipes provided by Dot Helms.
The Senator’s longtime
friend Hoover Adams, who is publisher of the Daily Record in
Dunn, recalls traveling with Senator Helms on a trip to South
Africa. Mr. Adams notes that the Senator was greeted warmly by
all people, but that he gravitated especially to young people.
“He loved those children like they were his own,” says Mr.
Adams, who goes on to call the Senator “one of the greatest
men I have ever known.”
For his concern for the welfare of the least of us, for his
administrative and political effectiveness, for his strong
unwavering convictions, and for all that he has done to serve
the people of North Carolina, NCCBI is proud to present its
Citation for Distinguished Public Service for 2001 to Senator
Jesse Helms.
Done
this 21st day of March 2001, at Raleigh
Malcolm
Everett III, Chairman of the Board
Phillip
J. Kirk, Jr., President
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